"Free" versus "Lost revenue" -- the big issue

The eBook Wars: Reality vs. Fantasy in Expectations

Yes, I know that DRM is really treating honest folk as pirates but let's take another look at reality: Given the opportunity to get an ebook free or to pay for it, most people will take it for free.

And so what?

The basic reason is not whether people have stolen the book but whether they would have bought the book in the first place. “Lost revenue” should be the criterion.

If someone stole the book — and probably never even read it — and was certainly never going to buy the book, then so who cares?